We may have a huge poop explosion to thank for the existence of complex life on Earth, according to scientists.
A new study, published in Trends in Ecology & Evolution, has credited this ‘faecal revolution’ with influencing one of the most significant turning points in animal and environmental evolution.
Researchers from Flinders University have suggested that a build-up of excrement from primitive sea creatures may have been a core trigger for the Cambrian explosion – a period around 540 million years ago when most major animal groups emerged.
“Next to rising oxygen levels and other contributing factors, the importance of faeces in ancient ecosystems is often overlooked,” said Dr Russell Bicknell, an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) fellow at Flinders University’s College of Science and Engineering.
Poop from prehistoric sea creatures, said the scientists, encouraged marine life to evolve and diversify.
